Post by Esmeralda on Sept 23, 2019 19:08:39 GMT -5
NOTE FROM ES: This is my favorite of Aurora Nightstar's stories - even more than our "The Warren Curse" which we wrote together. It was written during July '04 during the summer between S6 and S7 and was written as a birthday present for me, and when I told her how much I loved it, she said I could share it with anyone I wished.
I'll warn you that although Aurora is one of my favorite Charmed authors, she was a HUGE Chris-fan who thought that every female who sees him should fall madly in love with him... If you can look past that, it's still a fun story with a solution I wonder if you'll see coming, along with one of my favorite endings.....
Author's Note: This story was written during the summer between Season 6 and 7 and ignores everything in Season 7 and 8. Happy birthday, Es! This one's for you!
Christopher Halliwell sat in the corner of the attic, firmly scrunched up like a ball with his head in his lap, crying his heart out. He had just witnessed the disintegration of the Charmed Ones, the strongest force for good ever born. They were also his future mother and his two future aunts. Worst of all, they would not have died had he not sent them after the demon who had killed them.
He heard the sound of orbing but he didn’t even look up. "They can still be saved, Chris," his father told him.
“How?" Chris demanded, not even bothering to look up, "You can’t heal dust!"
Leo stepped over to his future son and put his hand on the shaking shoulder only to have Chris pull away. "They can’t be dead," Leo insisted. "Piper is still pregnant with you. You would’ve faded away if she was dead, the way you did when we almost didn‘t conceive you in time."
"Then why am I still here?" Chris demanded, but his father didn’t reply. When he finally looked up, he saw his father frozen. "Mom?" he called out hopefully.
But rather than Piper, the Angel of Destiny appeared. "You still have a chance to save them, young Christopher Victor Halliwell. It is your destiny to do so."
"But, how? It’s impossible."
The Angel did not appear to have heard him. “The Root of All Evil has vanquished The Source of All Good,” he stated. “You must bring her back!”
"Wait! There’s another Source?"
"No, The Source of All Evil was created by The Root of all Evil after he vanquished The Source of All Good. She must be restored to power or all hope is forever lost."
“But how do I do that?”
The Angel disappeared, but his voice remained, echoing, fading away, but still audible. "Just remember. Time is on your side….”
As the Angel disappeared, Leo unfroze. He knew immediately that something had happened because Chris’ tears had dried on his face, just like his own face was still ravaged by grief of the apparent loss of his soul mate. Only the knowledge that Chris could not be still around if Piper was truly gone forever helped him keep it together. “What happened?” he asked.
Typically, Chris ignored his father’s question. "Ever heard of the Source of All Good?" he asked instead. Before Leo could answer Chris wondered out loud, “What is it, an Elder? Or a Founder? Mom talked about the Founders creating the Elders."
Leo began to respond until he realized that his son was only thinking aloud.
"What about the Root of All Evil?" Chris next asked.
"No, you mean the Source of All Evil,” Leo corrected. “They already vanquished him. That's how they fulfilled their destiny."
"No, the Root," Chris corrected back. "The one who created the Source. Did the Founders do that, too?”
Leo shook his head. "I don’t know. I’ll go check with the other Elders."
Chris rolled his eyes. "Sure, if you feel like wasting your time." Leo shot Chris a dirty look and again Chris rolled his eyes. "Seriously, they never know anything!"
"They did come up with the idea of how to clean up the last time magic was exposed," Leo reminded him. "That may be what happened again this time."
"Yeah, pure genius,” Chris retorted sarcastically. “They had you seeking demonic help instead of just asking the Cleaners! No, thanks, I don’t want that kind of help. I don’t want to end up like Aunt Prue!"
Leo stared at him in shock, but once more Chris was no longer paying him any attention. "Time is on my side," he muttered.
"What was that?" Leo asked.
"Of course!” Chris cried. “The spell!"
Jumping up and grabbing some chalk, he drew a triquetra on the wall then cast the spell he knew very well, the spell that had brought him back to this time:
"Hear these words. Hear the rhyme.
Heed the hope within my mind.
Send me back to where I'll find
What I wish in place and time."
Even as he walked through the portal, Leo called out, "Good luck, son!" then he let his own devastation over Piper’s death sink in, as he began to cry. He had put on a strong face for his son, but now that his son had left, he let the emotions sink in.
"Yeah, I mean, look, I told you--you have nothing to worry about today, all right?” Prue insisted. “It’s going to be a demon-free day."
Just then Cole shimmered in. "Hey! Sorry I'm late!" he smirked.
Piper rolled her eyes at Prue. “You were saying?"
"Near-miss with a Zoltar," Cole explained before kissing Phoebe. "Almost spotted me. Oh, don't worry--I lost him. I think."
Just then they heard the sound of someone orbing in. "No!" cried Prue. "Leo, you’re not supposed to see your bride until the ceremony!"
But as the orbs turn into a person, all four people stared at him in astonishment. This was a young dark-haired green-eyed man.
"Who the hell are you?" Piper demanded. "Even if you are awful cute."
"Zoltar!" Cole cried as he lit up an energy ball.
Phoebe pushed his hand down. "Demons don’t orb,"
"I came from the future," the newcomer announced. "I need your help. Otherwise your lives are all going straight to hell!"
"See?" Piper sighed heavily. "No matter what, a demon will attack today. It's just the natural order of our universe."
"No, Mo-Piper,” the newcomer reassured her. “It’s not a demon who is going to ruin your wedding."
Prue looked over at this very cute stranger, the cutest thing she had seen since Darryl had taken Bane Jessup away. “Whoa, and you are?"
Cole instantly recognized the expression on Prue’s face--the same look Phoebe had given him the first time she met him and every time since. He nudged his love. "Can you believe she is actually attract--" The words died in his throat as he realized that Phoebe was looking at him in much the same way. Jealousy flared in his soul as he turned to glare at the intruder. "Look, in case you didn’t know, there is a wedding going on here, so why don’t you orb back to the future or where ever the hell came from--"
"Don’t be rude," Phoebe cut him off. Seeing the hurt on Cole’s face, she quickly kissed him.
"I think I’ll go check on Leo and Victor," Cole muttered. "Oh and before I forget..." and he tossed Piper a gift.
Piper glared at Cole as he left, then turned to the newcomer. "Young man, whatever it is that you are here for will just have to wait until after the wedding."
"What did you say your name was again?" Prue asked.
"Chris," he replied. "Chris Perry," although saying Bianca’s last name still made his heart ache.
“That’s a nice name,” Piper smiled. As she and her sisters continued to talk, Chris turned and disappeared up the stairs.
Shortly afterwards, Prue went up the stairs herself. Walking into the attic, she was surprised to see the cute newcomer looking at the Book of Shadows. "Get away from that Book!" she demanded.
Chris grinned. "Funny. Piper said the same thing the first time she saw me looking through it. I’ve been through this thing plenty of times. You know that it wouldn‘t let me near it if I wasn‘t good," and reaching out, he turned the page, smirking at her.
Prue didn‘t care. "I mean it," she warned, raising her hand.
He shrugged. "You are looking for stuff on that dream you had, right?" he asked. "Well, it wasn’t a dream. It’s just your astral self acting up," and he smiled, as he remembered all of the stories his mother had told him about her wedding.
"And how would you know?"
"Like I said, I’m from the future," Chris reminded her with a smile. “I know everything that is going to happen to this family.”
"Okay, Future Boy, what do you see in my future?"
"Believe me, you don’t want to know. All of your lives are all going straight to hell-- especially yours. I need your help to prevent that from happening."
Prue rolled her eyes. "I heard enough of this nonsense," as she yanked the Book away from him. "Save it until after the wedding. Nothing is going to be allowed to stop this wedding. We'll do what we have to do. For Piper!"
"Okay," Chris agreed with a smile. "For Piper."
Shortly afterwards, the ghost of Penny Halliwell appeared in her role as head priestess. "Places, everyone," she called, smiling. “Girls! It’s showtime!”
The doorbell rang.
"Don’t answer that!" Prue cried.
"Oh, that’s just Darryl." Chris told her, matter-of-factly. "He’s here to warn you that you are wanted for murder."
"What?" Prue exclaimed. "But that was just a dream!"
The doorbell rang again.
"Will someone answer that?" Piper yelled down the stairs.
"I’ll get it," Prue and Chris both said at the same time.
"No, I’ll get it," Prue insisted, as she went to answer the door.
Chris looked over at Victor longingly. He so much wanted to hug his beloved grandpa, but he knew he shouldn’t. Then his grandfather spoke to him. “And you are?"
"Oh, this is Chris," Phoebe told him. "He’s another whitelighter."
Victor pulled Leo to the side. "Hey, another whitelighter!" he murmured. "Be careful of him--he is probably here to steal your girl!"
"What!" Chris, who had heard every word, exclaimed. No way he'd want to steal his mother away from his father, especially not before he was even born! Just the thought creeped him out. "No way!"
"Police have your picture,” Darryl was explaining to Prue. “You're wanted for murder. They said you fled custody this morning,"
Prue turned to stare curiously at Chris. "How did you know?"
"Oh my God,” Phoebe was in shock. “That was your dream?"
"She didn’t murder anybody!" Chris insisted, adding, "Neither did TJ. Leo and Cole will figure it out later."
"How do you know about TJ?" Prue demanded, becoming more and more confused.
Chris shrugged. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm from the future. I know what's going to happen."
Penny Halliwell gave Chris a strange look, but shrugged. “That might be, young man, but let's sort this out later. That‘s what the reception is for."
"Yes," Phoebe agreed. "Let's get the wedding over with for Piper’s sake"
"For Piper," Prue and Chris said at the same time, although Chris only managed to say "Pi" before he lost all sense of what was going on, staring at who had just entered the room.
The ghost of his great-grandmother had asked his grandpa to make room, and in walked his totally-corporeal grandma. He had summoned his grandma’s ghost many times while growing up. He loved her very much, almost as much as he loved his own mother, and wanted nothing more than to go and give her a hug, since he had never been able to do that in person before.
Suddenly Chris snapped back to reality. A disaster was just about to occur, one he had to prevent. With a flick of the wrist, he forced the front door open, moments before it would have been demolished as TJ’s motorcycle came barreling through the front door.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as TJ knocked over the flowers and then knocked over the table, and all the glassware smashed on the floor. He was now heading for the table that held the wedding cake.
Chris knew the cake would be destroyed, and he knew how much that would hurt his mother who had worked so hard to make it perfect. He could not let that happen. So he telekinetically raised the motorcycle in the air, turned it around and pushed TJ and his motorcycle out the door. He knew what would happen next, but his telekinesis had no effect on Prue’s astral self as it ran after TJ.
"Prue!” Phoebe screamed. “You get your astral ass back here!"
Suddenly Chris noticed Phoebe, her short dark hair in a hairnet, and a redheaded Paige peering around the doorframe. Walking towards them, he heard Paige ask "Who is that guy?"
"I have no idea," Phoebe admitted. "He wasn’t there before, I swear. He sure is cute."
Then they must’ve noticed him walking towards them, because they tried to hide. He laughed softly. "Oh, c’mon, Phoebe, Paige. I know you’re here."
"How do you know my name?" Paige asked as she and Phoebe came out of hiding. "Do you think he's another warlock?" she asked her half-sister.
The accusation made Chris smirk. "No, I’m not a warlock, I’m part-witch and part-whitelighter, just like you, Paige."
Just then Kit walked in and meowed. Phoebe picked her up and started petting her, just as a warlock blinked in, staring in surprise at Phoebe and Paige, but especially Chris. Just as quickly, he blinked out.
"By the way, good job saving the cake," Phoebe told Chris with a smile. “Piper worked hard on that thing and was devastated that it was destroyed.”
.
"The cake was supposed to be smashed?" Paige asked.
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, he just changed history."
"That’s why I’m here," Chris told them.
"To save a cake?" Paige asked, confused.
"No, to change history.” Suddenly his eyes grew wide as something hit him. “And I must’ve succeeded or you two couldn’t come here.” Before they could ask for an explanation, he quickly warned, “Somebody’s coming!" as he grabbed for his aunts’ hands so he could orb them elsewhere, but they both blinked out, just like the warlock.
Chris shrugged and returned to the living room, just as Astral Prue returned to her body.
"Oh, Prue, you are back, good. No, wait, not good!" as he remembered. "The power is about to go out, and the police will be in here any minute!"
"Yeah, right," and Prue rolled her eyes, but then they turned huge as the power did, in fact, go out.
Reaching out for this set of aunts, Chris quickly orbed them out.
No sooner did they leave than the police walked in. The first officer on the scene looked around. He could’ve sworn he’d heard voices. “Where did everybody go….?"
Meanwhile, at a seedy bar on the other side of town, Darryl was annoyed with Cole, who insisted that he could sense blood on one of the patrons. "Oh, great, you mean you don't know? What are you gonna do? Ask him?"
Just then the biker walked past them. He stopped and stared, then continued to walk.
"That's a good idea. Why don't you meet me out front in five?" Cole asked, rubbing his hands together expectantly.
Just then Chris, Phoebe and Prue stepped around the corner. "Cole, don’t bother!" cried Chris. "You have the right killer, Darryl--just book him!"
Darryl was confused, as he often was around the Halliwells. "Excuse me, and you are?"
Cole rolled his eyes as he answered, "A royal pain in the…"
"Cole!” Phoebe cut him off before making the introductions herself. “Darryl Morris, Chris Perry. He says he’s from the future so he knows what’s going to happen."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Darryl asked.
Chris nodded. "Positive."
"Well, that ‘pain in the ass’" Prue mockingly smirked at Cole, "has been right about everything else."
“We can’t go back to the manor,” Chris reminded them. “It will be crawling with cops. I’ll go get Piper; meet us back at P3. We‘ll have the wedding there," and the others agreed.
Chris orbed to the back room of P3, the same room he’d occupy in the future. He could hear his grandparents leaving, so he walked into the bar. There he found his mother sobbing, clearly heart-broke so he knew his grandparents hadn‘t succeeded in cheering her up this time any better than they had the first time.
“Please don’t cry," Chris softly told his mother. He fought back his own tears as the sight of his mother like this was enough to shatter his own heart.
"Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”
“It’s not important. Getting you to stop crying is.”
"I can’t help it. All I wanted was a nice normal wedding. My own big sister ruined it!"
"She didn’t do it on purpose," Chris defended his aunt. "And it wasn't her. It was her astral self acting up and now Phoebe has helped her get it under control. Your sisters would do anything to make this day perfect for you; you know that. "
"Well, they failed,” Piper sniffled. "My wedding day is ruined."
"Don’t talk like that," he tried to put his arm around her consolingly, but she pulled away before he could touch her.
"Why not?” she demanded. “It’s the truth!"
"Oh, c’mon, you know this is going to work out. It's got to. After all,” he reminded her with a smile. “Weren’t you and Leo together in that future you visited?"
That didn't help much. "Worked out, yeah, right," she muttered, then looked up and glared at him. "We were divorced!"
"But didn’t you see kids in that future?" he inquired hopefully. “Kids who need you to get married so they can live?”
"Yeah, yeah,” and now she was starting to get annoyed. “We had a beautiful little girl."
"Girl?" he squeaked in surprise.
"Yeah," she replied, her heart aching at the reminder. "Melinda."
He sighed in frustration, wondering if he’d done something to prevent his and Wyatt’s conception, although he admitted to himself that that would be okay if it meant that Wyatt didn’t become evil and his mother and aunt wouldn’t die. "Well, then for her sake, you need to get married, if not for you own."
"I suppose,” she agreed, but then tears began filling her eyes again. “But not today; not when this wedding day is already ruined beyond repair."
"Hey,” he smiled. “A wise person once told me that if at the end of your wedding day, you manage to marry the person you love, then your wedding was perfect."
"What idiot gave you that dribble?"
His smile grew larger. “Um, that would be you!"
"We knew each other in the future?" she asked, interested now.
"Of course, you were--" he hesitated, but then thought about it. Again he could see his mother and his aunts disintegrating right before his very eyes. The tactic of not telling them anything had literally blown up in his face. Now he would try a different approach.
"Well, I was what?” she demanded, her eyes flashing. “Don’t keep me in suspense here!"
"You and Leo, see, well, this is kinda hard to say, but,"
"Me and Leo were what?"
She was getting annoyed again, so he just blurted it out. "You’re my parents."
"What!" she exclaimed in shock.
"Not quite the reaction I was hoping for," he muttered.
Something about his disappointed face got to Piper and her mothering instincts took over. Although she wasn’t a real “huggy” type person, she reached out and hugged him.
"I love you, Mom," Chris whispered as he snuggled into the hug.
There was something so natural and heart-felt in how he said it, that Piper just knew it ad to be true. She was holding her future son. "Oh, son!” she exclaimed. “Leo will be thrilled!"
Chris was less than enthusiastic about that idea. "Oh, no need to tell him. The less who know the better. I don't want to mess up the future too much. I shouldn’t even have told you, but I had to let you know that I do know what’s going to happen in the future and that things will turn out okay. Please, Mom, just keep this between us, okay?"
Piper shook his head. "But your father deserves to know. I can’t keep such a thing from him, especially not on what you insist will be our wedding day!
"No, he doesn't need to know, please, Mom!" he pleaded with her as he gave her his best sad puppy-dog eyes look.
That look got to her as he knew it would. "Oh, I don’t know."
"Just let me tell him when the time is right," he begged. Which will be never, he added silently to himself.
She reluctantly gave in, and he grinned just as they heard the others coming down the stairs. Piper walked over to Leo and hugged him. Chris grinned at them. "All right, let's get you two hitched!"
"Who put Future Boy in charge?" Cole grumbled bitterly.
Now that Piper knew who Chris really was, she glared at the half-demon. "Cole, put a sock in it! No, the wedding can wait!"
"What!!" cried out the others, even Chris.
"But it will happen today," Piper smiled as she kissed Leo, then she turned back to Chris. "But first things first, and you come first. Tell us again about this--What did you call it?"
"The Root of All Evil."
"If you mean--" Leo started
"No," Chris interrupted. "Not the Source--the Root."
"I’ll--" Leo began again, now glaring at Chris.
"Don't waste your time checking with the Elders," Chris shot back, glaring at his father. "The Root of All Evil created The Source. He also vanquished the Source of All Good. If you don’t want all of your futures to go to hell, we must bring her back."
"Gee," Cole muttered under his breath. “This guy sure is rude!”
"Cole!" Phoebe cried out in shock.
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Prue snickered.
"Maybe,” Victor agreed, “but Cole is right. Chris is being very rude. He shouldn’t keep interrupting."
"Yeah,” Patty added gently. “Leo is only trying to help."
Hearing his beloved grandparents disagree with him and agree with Cole broke Chris' heart. He just couldn’t win. "Sorry, Leo," he muttered, not particularly sincerely. "It’s just that we’ve already had this conversation, or will have," Chris shook his head at the confusion of time travel. "Whatever. The point is I already knew what you were going to say before you said it."
Sensing his insincerity, Leo still glared, but figured it wasn’t worth the effort of fighting over it. "Sure," he agreed slowly.
Piper stared at both of them in shock. She could swear that Chris did not like his father. Nah, impossible, she thought with a laugh; everyone loves Leo! So slipping into her natural role of peacemaker, she decided to try to move everyone past this awkward moment. "Getting back to the Root of all Evil, can we use a spell to find him?"
Cole continued to glare at Chris. "Don’t you see that he’s just leading you into a trap?"
But all of the Halliwells rolled their eyes at Cole and then, as always, Prue took over. "Phoebe, think you can work on a spell?" she suggested. "One that will take us to this Root of All Evil?"
Phoebe nodded as she grabbed the pad and pencil she always had with her, even during Piper's wedding, and began working on a spell. The others threw suggestions at her, even Victor, Patty, Chris and Cole, and eventually Phoebe had written a spell that they all agreed should work. At Chris’ suggestion, Piper found some chalk and then drew a triquetra on the wall before the Charmed Ones began to chant:
"Magic forces, black and white,
Reaching out through space and light,
The Root of All Evil is whom we seek,
To stop the havoc that he wreaks
So wherever or whenever he may be,
Now grant us passage straight to he."
It might not have been grammatically correct, but it worked as the triquetra turned into a portal. "Thanks!" Chris told them with a smile. "Wish me luck!" and he disappeared through the portal.
"Oh, no, you don’t!" Piper cried as she followed her son through the portal, unwilling to lose her son so soon after she had found him.
"Piper!" and both Phoebe and Prue ran after her.
"Phoebe!" Cole exclaimed. "There is no way I am leaving Phoebe alone with that kid!" and he charged in after them.
"Leo, you better go too,” Patty gently suggested. “Just in case they need healing," and Leo nodded as he too stepped through the portal.
Victor turned to Patty. "I guess we should go too," he said, and he turned toward the portal.
But Patty grabbed his arm. She pulled him close to her. He turned around in surprise. She gave him a slow kiss. "No, Victor,” she insisted, “Not this time,” as she watched the portal close.
They all arrived in a large dark room. To their surprise, one wall was filled with a huge screen showing a video of Leo and Piper’s wedding as it happened without Chris.
As they watched Penny tell the sisters that it was showtime, Chris was the first to speak. "Looks like demons have hidden cameras all over the manor."
Leo nodded. "We will have to do something about that when we return."
"That and find the Root," Piper reminded him. Then her mouth dropped open as she watched TJ came smashing through the door. Her chin nearly hit the floor as she watched him smash into her beautiful wedding cake.
"That's the way it originally happened," Chris admitted sheepishly
Piper smiled at him, "Then thanks for coming and preventing that," and she shook her head, still very disturbed by the sight of what her wedding could’ve ended up looking like.
"I don’t care how you do it," demanded a strident voice. Looking back, they saw a man dressed all in black standing in the doorway talking to another man who was holding a clipboard. “Just get Belthazor back here right now!” and the man in black walked out the door, while the other man followed, never realizing that there were others in the room.
Those remaining in the room spun to stare at Cole. "You know this guy?" Leo asked what everyone was thinking.
Cole shook his head, insisting, "I’ve never seen that man before in my life."
Everyone kept questioning Cole, but Chris headed for the door the man just left through. He’d been thinking about the Root and the Source and decided that they had to be sure. So he pulled out his sunglasses from his pocket and cast a quick spell that his Aunt Phoebe had taught him:
"Magic forces far and wide,
Enchant these so those can't hide
Allow this witch to use therein
So he can reveal the evil within,"
Walking down a hallway, he came to a door. Taking a quick peek, he saw the same man in black, now talking to three women who looked exactly like the Charmed Ones, even dressed in the same outfits--Piper in her wedding dress, Prue and Phoebe in their bridesmaid dresses. Chris quickly slipped on the glasses. Looking at the man he was surprised that he couldn't see anything but a huge black hole. He must be the head demon, Chris decided, or maybe even the Root of All Evil himself, since he’s the one who attracted us. And those women must be his assistants, he decided as he put the glasses back in his pocket. He tried to remain in earshot yet out of sight.
"How is the rest of the world going to believe you are the Charmed Ones if you can’t even convince me?" he demanded.
Chris could not see who was speaking but he recognized that voice—it sounded exactly like his Aunt Prue's. "Well, all this stuff you are asking us to do is just ridiculous! No one is going to believe it! And I am not going to do it!"
"You can be replaced, you know!" the man hissed.
"Wrong,” and the Prue look-alike shook her head. “It’s all about the Power of Three!"
"Right, like I can’t find someone else willing to be a Charmed One," the man threatened with a smirk.
Another women chimed in. "She is right, and you know it!! Leo and Piper are soul mates; no one is going to buy it that they suddenly break up and Piper begins dating right away just because Leo becomes an Elder! And Phoebe as Queen of the Underworld; you have got to be kidding! And Prue pregnant after being raped by a demon! Come on! That is just all so cliché."
"Yes, the eldest Charmed One will bear an evil child," the man in black declared, grinning. "And that child will be the most powerful force of evil ever born!"
Chris was stunned. If Aunt Prue had lived, Wyatt would've been hers, he thought to himself. I wonder whose son I would've been. Mom said she had a girl in the future. Would I have been a girl?
Just then the others walked up to him. He put his finger over his mouth, indicating for them to be quiet and then led them back a bit, so they wouldn’t be overheard. "As best as I can tell, they have these demonic impersonators, and they are planning on replacing you guys--right at your wedding, Mo-Piper! That must be why I was sent back to your wedding!"
"No wonder they have cameras all over our manor!" Phoebe cried, shaking her head in wonder.
"Yeah, they're studying our behavior!" Prue exclaimed. “So they can play us convincingly!”
"Exactly!" Chris agreed.
Leo spoke up. "I have an idea. If we can somehow get rid of those demons and make that man in black think you are them, we can find out what's going on here and how to stop them."
Chris wasn’t happy that his father had come up with a good idea, since he preferred being the hero who knew everything, but he reluctantly admitted that his father was right. While the others continued to discuss what they should do next, Chris snuck off again, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery himself so he could go back to being the big hero.
No sooner did he disappear around the corner than one of the imposter-demons, the one who looked like Phoebe, headed toward them. "Wow!" she cried with a big smile. "You guys are the best yet!" and she continued walking. "Don't go anywhere--you'll be needed pretty soon," and off she walked.
"She didn’t think anything of us all being here?" Leo questioned after he was pretty sure she was out of earshot.
"Weird," Phoebe and Prue said in unison.
"More than one set of imposters?" Cole suggested. "In case one set doesn't work out?" and the others shrugged.
"Hold it!" Piper suddenly cried out, "Where did Chris go?"
"Who cares?" Cole shot back, and Piper glared at him.
They decided to split up and explore. The sisters went one way while the guys went another.
Chris was still spying. Going around a corner, he spotted his mother. Or was it really his mother or the imposter-demon? He wasn't sure, so he put his sunglasses back on, looking for a dark aura. He was relieved to see it wasn’t there; instead a light blue aura surrounded her. Smiling, he walked towards her. Just in case anyone else was around, he figured he better not call her Mom, much as he wanted to. "Piper," he started, wanting to thank her for standing up for him.
But she interrupted him. "Don’t call me Piper," she said with a laugh. What? he thought to himself. She wants me to call her Mom? But what if someone overhears?
Then he noticed that she was looking him over in a very unmotherly way! "What’s with the sunglasses inside?" she asked as she walked up to him. She removed his sunglasses. "Oh, you have the most gorgeous eyes!"
"Hey!" he cried. "Give me those!" and he grabbed for the sunglasses.
She pulled then away from him. "You forgot to say please," she teased provocatively as she spun the sunglasses on her fingers. Then she smiled at him seductively.
He took a few steps back, but found himself forced to stop because he was backed up against a wall. "What do you think you’re doing?!" he cried in shock.
"You are so cute,” and she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in close. She kissed his lips and tried to take the kiss deeper just as Leo and Cole rounded the corner.
"Oh my God!" Leo flipped out. "Victor was right about him!"
"Son of a pregnant dog!" Cole glared at Chris, having no idea how badly he was insulting Piper. "You stay away from Phoebe, you hear!"
Chris was in such shock that he failed to notice Leo and Cole. He shoved Piper away "What do you think you’re doing?" he demanded, as he wiped at his lips in disgust.
"Did you happen to forget that we are getting married today?" Leo asked Piper indignantly.
Piper laughed. "Sure we are! Catch you later!" and she actually winked at Chris!
"She’s got to be under a spell!" Chris insisted as both Leo and Cole gave him a death-glare.
Piper rolled her eyes. "Don’t be ridiculous," and she laughed as she walked away.
"What were you doing, coming on to his bride like that?" Cole snapped at Chris.
"Let me handle this!" Leo demanded before he got straight into Chris' face. "What were you doing, coming on to my bride like that?" He grabbed Chris. "If she doesn't marry me today, it will be all your fault!"
"No! No!” Chris cried. “You got it all wrong! She came on to me! But I know she loves you! It’s got to be a spell!" He orbed out of Leo’s grip. Leo grabbed through the orbs, hanging onto them until Chris reappeared, then he threw Chris against a wall.
Cole's jaw dropped. "I thought you whitelighters were pacifists!"
Leo grabbed Chris and threw him again just as the Charmed Ones rounded the other corner. "Leo, what are you doing?"
"Piper!" Leo stared in shock. "Didn’t you just go that way?"
Prue shook her head. "How could she? She’s been with Phoebe and me the whole time!"
"Must have been the imposter," Cole cut her off.
"Imposter? Sorry, Chris," and Leo apologized as he helped Chris up.
Chris looked at the sunglasses that were still in his hands. "But it couldn’t have been."
Cole scoffed at him and crossed his arms, so Chris pulled out his sunglasses again and looked at the three sisters. Only light surrounded the Charmed Ones.
"What is it with the sunglasses?" Leo glared at Chris.
Chris looked at his father and all he saw was an even brighter light. Normally that would’ve annoyed him, but he had to admit that his father was good-–too good. Then Chris looked over at Cole and cringed at the sight of Belthazor, even as he was glad to see that the glasses were still working. But he was still confused. If they showed the evil within Cole, why didn’t they show the evil within the demonic imposter?
"Nothing," he muttered as he returned the glasses to his pocket, still determined to figure it out on his own.
Just then the man in black returned, accompanied by a woman none of them knew. "What are you all standing around for?" he demanded. "We’ve got work to do," and he turned and walked away, obviously just expecting everyone to follow. The woman looking back at them apologetically, as she followed him, so--just for now--the Charmed Ones and their guys followed, too.
As they did, Chris slipped his sunglasses back on. Sure enough, the man was still surrounded by his dark aura, but the woman was not. Instead all he saw was a bright light, just like when he looked at Leo. Bingo! A whitelighter pretending to be a demon infiltrating his hideout! And that must be what was what was up with that Piper-imposter; another witch pretending to be a demon! He couldn’t wait to tell the real Charmed Ones that he had figured it out.
The woman whitelighter caught up to the head demon. "I was going over these plans you made for Cole," she started, and Chris recognized her voice from when she was talking with the man earlier.
He grinned. "It will be so grand!"
"But you have Cole involuntarily becoming the Source of All Evil and taking Phoebe as his queen!" she cried, disapprovingly.
"Yeah, and if you don’t like it you can leave, too," the head demon grinned. "I don’t need you anymore."
Cole looked at Phoebe with fear in his eyes. "That is not going to happen," he assured her.
The head demon heard the comment and turned to glare at them. "You have no say in the matter," he insisted. "What I decide is what's going to happen."
Chris’ eyes grew large as he finally put it all together. To be sure he was right, he asked, "Who created the Source of All Evil?"
"What do you mean?" the woman whitelighter asked.
"That was another one of my brilliant ideas," the head demon replied proudly. Then he looked at Chris more closely. "Who the hell are you anyway? No one is allowed in here! GUARDS!"
"It’s you!" Chris accused the head demon.
Just then the three demon imposters returned. With the sunglasses still on, Chris looked more carefully at the imposters and realized that all of them had light auras; not one of them had a dark one. Were they all witches disguised as demons?
"We don’t have all day," Imposter Prue said impatiently. “Can we get on with it?”
"Yeah, hurry," the Phoebe imposter started to say as her eyes fell on Chris. "Whoa, who is that?"
"I saw him first," Imposter Piper insisted, smiling seductively at Chris as she and the Phoebe imposters surrounded Chris.
Chris glared at Leo. "I told you she hit on me."
"GUARDS!" the head demon yelled. Some big burly-looking men came running around the corner. "Get this kid out of here right now!" he commanded in a voice that was used to being obeyed.
"Nah, let him stay," Imposter Piper insisted, still ogling Chris.
Chris made a face, disgusted that his mother was all over him, wearing her wedding dress no less, even if it wasn't really his mother.
"To be with me," Imposter Phoebe declared. She was also all over him.
Cole knew she was an imposter, but he still didn’t like this one bit.
The real Phoebe saw the murderous look in his eyes, so she kissed him. "Sure this newcomer is cute, but I prefer hot men over cute boys.”
The burly men grabbed Chris. "Get your skanky hands off my son!" the real Piper demanded as she threw her hands in the air, freezing all three imposters and the guards, surprising Chris who was certain the imposters wouldn’t freeze, but he cringed as Piper let the cat out of the bag.
The others stared at Piper in shock and simultaneously cried out "Son?!"
Piper looked at Chris apologetically, and then announced. "Yes, he is mine and Leo's.”
"Well, that explains that," Cole declared. "Now to take care of those imposters," as he lit an energy ball in his hand.
"No!" Chris screamed, terrified. "They are not evil!"
"How do you know?" Cole demanded, taking aim at Imposter Phoebe.
"I charmed these glasses! I thought they might be witches, but they're not! They must be innocents, under HIS spell!" and he pointed accusingly at the man in black. "He created the Source! He’s the Root of All Evil!"
"Anyone got a vanquish in their pocket?" Prue asked with a smile.
"As a matter of fact," and Phoebe pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I’ve been working on it since we got here," and she unfolded the paper as Prue and Piper surrounded her, and they began to chant:
"Brianna, Penelope, Patricia, Melinda,
Astrid, Helena, Laura, and Grace...
Halliwell witches stand strong beside us,
Vanquish this evil from time and space!"
The imposters unfroze and watched in shocked as the man burst into flames, screaming as he burned before vanishing.
"What the hell!" cried Imposter Phoebe.
Imposter Prue stared at the Charmed Ones. ""Looks like the stunt doubles just vanquished Brad Kern!" Shannen cried in shock.
"What!" cried Holly and Alyssa, unable to believe it.
Connie smiled. "Great! Then we can get rid of these!" and she tossed some scripts into the trashcan.
Chris pointed at Connie. "So she must be the Source of All Good, huh?"
Shannen looked at him strangely, "Whatever that means. At least I can enjoy playing Prue again, and don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen to her or her sisters."
No sooner did she say that than a bright light surrounded Chris, just like the one that surrounded him when he first stepped through the triquetra portal.
When Chris could see again, he was back in the attic. He somehow knew he had returned to his own time, now changed. He could still remember everything that had happened and knew he would have to keep it to himself. But try as he might, he had no memory of the timeline he was now in. He wondered how much his life had changed.
Just then a beautiful young woman with long dark hair waltzed in. She was wearing a light-blue off-the-shoulder dress, her hair tied back with blue ribbon with lovely fresh flowers in her hair. She looked vaguely familiar but Chris couldn't place her. She hugged him like he was supposed to know her, so he lightly hugged her back.
"Congratulations!" she told him. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Melinda!" A young man walked in, wearing a tux. "You look absolutely beautiful!"
Chris shuddered at the sight of him. Wyatt! Except why were his hair and eyes both dark brown? Was he still evil? But when Chris reached for his sunglasses, he was surprised to find that they weren’t in his pocket and he was wearing a tux, one that matched the one Wyatt was wearing.
"Andy!" Melinda gave the other man the warmest smile as she twirled around, showing off her dress.
Andy? Chris wondered. Who's Andy?
Andy smiled pleasantly at Chris, a look Chris rarely saw from him if he really was Wyatt with a different name. "I can understand you being nervous about this, but relax; you are marrying the perfect girl, and if any demons try to wreck your wedding, they will have to answer to me!" He spoke with total strength and sincerity as he tapped his hand against the sword Excalibur that lay sheathed by his side.
We did it! Chris thought in triumph. The wielder of Excalibur is now good, not evil!
"Yeah,” Melinda smiled. “I can't believe Bianca is letting me be her maid of honor."
"And I'm so proud that you chose me to be your best man," Andy added.
Chris nearly fainted. Bianca is still alive?! His smile grew bigger as the realization that he was about to marry her finally set in. But if his older brother was no longer evil, how did he ever end up with a Phoenix, an assassin? That was the only thing about changing the future that had worried him.
The three walked down to the foyer, where he spotted his mother, fussing with a large floral arch, the flowers matching the ones in Melinda's hair.
He smiled at the others. "Excuse me." They nodded, smiling, so Chris raced to Piper.
"Mom!" he exclaimed. Piper hugged Chris as Melinda and Andy stepped up behind them, smiling.
She held Chris at arms-length away. "Look at you, my handsome son, all grown-up and about to get married. This brings back memories," she added with a smile.
"Of yours and Le- Dad's wedding?" Chris asked. Melinda raised a brow inquisitively at Chris, and he shrugged.
"Yeah," Piper smiled at the memory. Then she frowned. Then she smiled again.
"What is it, Mom? Did something happen at your wedding?"
She looked confused. "Funny, for a minute I thought it wasn't that great, except that I managed to marry Leo, so it must've been perfect."
Chris grinned. "Right--as long as you marry the person you love by the end of the day, the wedding was perfect."
Piper looked at him strangely. "Yes, exactly right. The funny thing is now I don't remember anything that went wrong. Now I remember that it was perfect in every way--just like I know yours will be," and Chris smiled to himself, thinking of the special wedding present he had given his parents.
Just then Prue walked in, looking as fit as ever. Instead of any kind of Gucci bag, she carried her camera. "Okay, pictures," and everyone moaned, "Oh, no!"
Then she sighed in frustration. "Oh, Andy, come here a minute first."
"Ah, Mom," Andy whined as Prue straightened out his collar and tie.
Oh, he isn't my brother; he's my cousin, Chris realized. The oldest daughter had the Twice-Blessed Child, so he's Prue's.
"Get your father," Prue told Andy. "I want him in the pictures, too."
"I think Uncle Bane is in the living room, watching football with Uncle Glen," Melinda told her.
Uncle Bane? Chris wondered. Uncle Glen? But Glen used to be Paige's boyfriend! Did he marry Phoebe? What happened to Phoebe and Cole? Did the sisters have to vanquish Cole after all?
Just then, in walked Paige from the kitchen. "Congratulations," she told Chris, as she hugged him.
"Aunt Paige?" Chris exclaimed in confusion. He looked back and forth between his Aunt Prue and his Aunt Paige, wondering how they both could be there.
"Wyatt, what's wrong?" Paige asked, concerned
Wyatt? Wyatt's here? Chris looked around, but didn't see anyone new. Then it suddenly hit him. Paige was talking to him! Since Prue had had the Twice-Blessed Child and named him Andy, Piper and Leo named their first-born son--him--Wyatt! "Ah, nothing, it is just that, uh, I'm sorry. Uh, must have pre-weddings jitters. Ah, nothing, it is just that… Didn’t Mom meet Aunt Paige at Aunt Prue’s funeral?”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Prue laughed the hardest. "I sure hope not, since I'd have to be dead in order for them to have my funeral! And I'm no ghost!"
"Well, then can you tell me again how you joined the family, Aunt Paige?"
"Oh, we've told you this story a hundred times!" Paige grinned.
"Go for a hundred and one," Chris requested. "Please. It's my favorite family story," he hoped.
"Well, all right," Prue agreed. "One night at P3," she began, "I overheard Paige telling her then-boyfriend about how she thought she might be our long-lost half-sister."
"Prue told Phoebe and me about it," Piper continued. "At first I refused to believe that it could possibly be true."
"But then Phoebe spotted the triquetra she drew on her napkin," Prue chimed in.
"So I froze everyone at the club," Piper laughed. "If she really was a witch and one of us, she wouldn't freeze."
"Sure enough, I didn't," Paige declared proudly. "And then they took me to the manor, where I got to meet the ghost of our Mom and heard the whole story. And, of course, once Leo became an elder, I became their whitelighter, so here I am, ready to do their bidding,” and everyone laughed, especially Glen, who walked in with Bane.
"Where's Dad?" Chris wanted to know, forcing himself to call Leo Dad.
"Oh, he's not coming," Piper said with a smirk. "Elder business."
Chris sighed. Some things never change.
"Yeah, right!" Melinda retorted. "Like Dad would really miss my baby brother's wedding!"
So rather than a big brother I have a big sister, Chris thought, just like Mom saw in that other future.
Just then Phoebe and Cole walked in, holding hands, looking as happy together as Chris had just seen them at that other wedding, except now Cole was smiling happily at Chris. "Hi, everybody," he greeted. "Wyatt, I have something for you," and he handed Chris an envelope.
Chris opened and read it. "Wow! Thank you!" he cried. "That is only the finest hotel in Hawaii!"
Cole grinned. "Phoebe and I wanted you and Bianca to have a great honeymoon. One that was as nice as ours."
"Yeah, wait till you see what I got Bianca for her shower," Phoebe snickered. Cole smirked, while Paige and Prue both laughed. Piper pretended not to be listening, knowing that they were talking about her baby boy.
"What is it?" Chris asked, oblivious.
"You'll find out," Phoebe grinned.
"What?” Chris asked. “When?”
"Probably tonight," Prue smiled.
"When you’re alone with Bianca," Paige added, sneering at Phoebe. "Wish I had thought about it!"
Phoebe stuck out her tongue at Paige, and everyone laughed.
"I just hope Nicole doesn't outshine the bride," Phoebe smiled proudly, which Chris thought was impossible, no matter how pretty Phoebe's daughter was. "And Sam will probably steal the show," she laughed indulgently. "Although I was still arguing with her this morning about having to wear a dress! Imagine a flower girl in jeans!"
Paige grinned. "Not Trish. She thinks the dresses Bianca chose are the prettiest things she's ever seen."
Melinda spun again. "I think so, too!" Then she grinned. "Nicole will make sure Sam behaves. After all, she's been doing it Sam's whole life." Then she grinned at Chris. "Just like I've been making sure Wyatt behaves his whole life!" and Chris managed a weak grin back.
Just then Victor walked in and gave Chris a hug. Chris hugged him back tightly, so glad he was finally getting this chance to hug his beloved grandpa again. Now if only...
"Grandpa, so glad you made it!"
"Of course, I made it! Did you think I wouldn't?"
Just then two more people walked into the room, a man and a woman. They looked vaguely familiar, but Chris couldn't place them. Piper did, as she ran to greet them. "Lynn! Antonio! Welcome! I'm so glad the big day has finally arrived!"
"So are we," replied the woman, hugging Piper. As she did, Chris saw the Phoenix tattoo on her wrist, and looking, he saw it on the man's, too. Now he realized who they must be -- Bianca's parents -- now he could see her resemblance to them. But his mother was happy to see Phoenixes? That didn't make any sense at all.
“I have never seen Bianca happier,” Antonio said, smiling. “Well, maybe on her 18th birthday, when we gave her that Porsche."
“That just proves you have not been around enough,” Lynn also smiled. “She has been like that ever since she started dating Wyatt.”
“Yeah, and I can’t believe I have not even met Wyatt yet,” Antonio said.
Melinda ran over to Lynn. “Mrs. Perry, hello!” she cried, as she hugged Lynn.
“Call me Lynn. After all, we’re family now!” and Melinda grinned.
Just then someone began to orb in.
“Dad!" Melinda ran over and hugged Leo before he even finished re-materializing.
Chris' jaw dropped. "Le..Dad, you came!"
"Don't tell me you thought I wouldn't?" Leo looked just as surprised as Chris was. "When have I ever missed anything important in yours or your sister's life?"
Chris was about to answer, but Melinda cut him off. "Never!"
Chris stared at both of them. "Never?"
Leo smiled at Chris. "Never!" and Chris continued to stare, trying to imagine his life with a father who truly cared about him and his sister, and who always put them and their mother first, ahead of Elder duties. It was nearly impossible, so opposite it was to the lifetime he remembered.
"How did it go with the other Elders?" Piper asked Leo hopefully.
"Great! They granted that surprise for Wyatt," Leo exclaimed. He smiled as another orb began forming. "Here it is now."
As the orbs materialized, Chris saw a familiar face. "Grams!" he exclaimed as he ran to hug Patty, so very happy that he finally had this chance.
"Grams!" and now Melinda and Andy were running over so they could hug Patty, too, while their parents smiled.
Then Piper took Leo by the hand and led him to the other couple. "I don't think you've met Wyatt's future in-laws, the Perrys, yet."
"No, I haven't."
After Piper made the introductions, Antonio smiled, and Chris could see where Bianca got her lovely smile. "We're so glad and so proud that Bianca is marrying someone who is both the son of a Charmed One and the son of an Elder."
Leo smiled. "And we are so glad and proud that Wyatt is marrying a Phoenix." But although he was talking to Antonio Perry, he was looking right at his son as he spoke.
Chris tried to prevent the shock he felt from showing on his face. His father was happy he was marrying an assassin? How could that possibly be? After all, before he fell in love with Bianca, one of the reason he started dating her is because he knew how annoyed Leo would be once he found out.
Just then the grandfather clock began to bong. "Almost time!" cried Melinda happily. "I'm going to go join Bianca and the other girls. See ya soon, baby brother! Love ya!"
Chris smiled, repeating, "Love ya, big sis!" realizing he truly meant it as he watched her run up the stairs.
Then Leo turned towards Chris. "I'd like to have a private father-son talk with you before the ceremony, son. Is that all right with the rest of you?"
The others nodded, smiling, so Leo took his son's hand and orbed them both to the attic. Chris rolled his eyes at his father. "You know, you don't have to give me the birds-and-the-bees talk."
Leo smiled. "No, it has nothing to do with that. I know why you are so confused, Chris."
I very much doubt that, Chris thought to himself. "Just wedding-day jitters, I guess." He tried to sound convincing, and knew he hadn't succeeded.
Leo smiled. "No, I know it's not that."
Suddenly it hit Chris and he did a double-take, staring at Leo in shock. His father had called him Chris, not Wyatt!
Leo smiled, nodding. "That's right, Chris. As an Elder, I get to see not only my past lives, but alternate timelines as well. I know that you're Chris from the timeline when Prue died, so as the oldest living sister, it was Piper and I who had the Twice-Blessed son, whom we named Wyatt, and who turned evil. I know you're his younger brother, and I know about your trip to the past, trying to prevent your brother from turning. I also know how you went back to Piper's and my wedding and how you let her have better memories of it. And I know how you and the Charmed Ones vanquished the Root of All Evil and reinstated the Source of All Good back into power."
Chris continued to stare, now not trying to hide his shock. "You know?"
"Yes, I do, and I will try to make this transition as easy on you as possible. If you're not sure about something, all you need to do is ask."
"But the Phoenixes? In my time--"
"They're assassins." Leo nodded then continued, "But, Chris, in the majority of stories, the Phoenix are actually very good. They usually symbolize resurrection and eternal life. And that's what's true in this timeline, as it is in most. In this one, the Phoenix are elite--powerful and noble witches, whom we are proud to have as our allies, and more proud to have connected with our family. A child who is both Charmed and Phoenix will be a child who will do much good in the world, and one I'll be proud to call my grandchild."
Chris stared at his father, unable to believe what he was hearing. "But, but, why was it different in the world I remember?"
Leo smiled. "Chris, the only reason the Phoenix witches were consider evil then is because the Root of All Evil said so and made it so. Once you and the Charmed Ones vanquished him, the Phoenix witches were restored to what they should have been in that timeline also, which helped create this timeline."
"Oh," Chris didn't know what to say. He continued to stare, unable to believe it. This meant that Bianca had the full support of her family, just like he now knew he had the full support of his. He couldn't think of anything more wonderful.
"So you see, Chris, an evil Phoenix is about as ridiculous as an evil Elder," Leo pointed out, grinning. Chris let out a nervous laugh as he remembered Gideon. Then Leo's grinned grew so large that it nearly split his face in half. "All right, let's get you two hitched!" and Chris grinned back, remembering telling his parents the same thing.
No sooner did they orb back downstairs than the ghost of Penny Halliwell appeared in her place as high priestess. "Places, everyone!" she announced. "Girls! It's showtime!"
Chris, Andy, Glen, Cole and Bane stood under the floral arch, while Leo and Piper, Phoebe and Paige, and Patty and Victor took their places as guests. Prue stood near the stairs, ready to start snapping pictures, but first she waved her hand, and soon the music of Pachibel filled the room. Leo flung his own hand into the air and the same lights that twinkled overhead during his and Piper's wedding now twinkled for his son's.
Shortly afterward, a pretty girl who looked to be about five dressed in a white dress, with flowers in her hair, carrying a basket full of rose petals, began walking down the stairs, although she kept pulling her dress up as she did. Chris grinned. That must be his cousin, Cole and Phoebe's Samantha, who was obviously a tomboy.
Close behind Sam, a tall, dark young woman, who looked to be about Chris' age and was dressed like Melinda, came down the stairs. She kept indicating to Sam to let go of her dress and that she should sprinkle the rose petals on the stairs, something Sam refused to do. Chris' grin grew. This must be Sam's big sister, Nicole. Unlike Sam, who was a miniature-Phoebe and who must’ve been named after Phoebe’s idol, Samantha Stephens, Nicole looked just like the father she must’ve been named after. She was very beautiful, even more beautiful than Melinda, but not as beautiful as the Bianca in Chris' memory was.
When they reached the arch, Bane stepped forward and took his young niece's hand, while Cole reached out to take his older daughter's, while Prue kept snapping pictures, even when Sam stuck her tongue out at her! Prue shook her head laughingly at her niece before turning back to the stairs, so Chris looked up them, too.
Now coming down the stairs was another lovely young woman, just about the same age as Chris and Nicole and who looked just like Paige, and Chris was having fun imagining two Charmed Ones and one whitelighter all pregnant at the same time. He wanted to see those pictures! Chris was sure that she was his half-cousin, Glen and Paige's Patricia, named after his Grams, especially when Glen stepped forward to take her hand.
His big sister came down next, almost floating down the stairs; she looked so happy for him. Andy stepped forward to take her hand then they stepped on either side of Chris, so they were in their places as maid of honor and best man.
Finally Bianca herself came down the stairs, arm-in-arm with her parents. She was dressed in Piper's wedding dress and looked lovingly, happily at Chris. She looked even more beautiful than Chris had ever remembered seeing her, thanks to the goodness that absolutely beamed from her. He didn’t need his sunglasses to know that she was no longer an assassin. He was so happy, he had to blink to keep back his tears.
Soon Chris and Bianca were reciting their wedding vows:
”Heart to thee,
Body to thee,
Always and forever,
So mote it be."
Suddenly everyone but Chris froze again and once more the Angel of Destiny appeared. "Congratulations, young Christopher Victor Halliwell!" he proclaimed. "You have put both the Charmed destiny and the Phoenix destiny back on their proper course. Now things are as they should be. And as a reward for you, you will no longer remember that earlier timeline, only this one that you have helped create."
And as he disappeared and everyone began moving again, repeating, "So mote it be!" Wyatt Christopher Halliwell took his beautiful bride into his arms and kissed her while the whole Halliwell clan cheered.
The End!
I'll warn you that although Aurora is one of my favorite Charmed authors, she was a HUGE Chris-fan who thought that every female who sees him should fall madly in love with him... If you can look past that, it's still a fun story with a solution I wonder if you'll see coming, along with one of my favorite endings.....
The Root of All Evil
Written by Aurora Nightstar
Edited by Esmeralda
Author's Note: This story was written during the summer between Season 6 and 7 and ignores everything in Season 7 and 8. Happy birthday, Es! This one's for you!
Christopher Halliwell sat in the corner of the attic, firmly scrunched up like a ball with his head in his lap, crying his heart out. He had just witnessed the disintegration of the Charmed Ones, the strongest force for good ever born. They were also his future mother and his two future aunts. Worst of all, they would not have died had he not sent them after the demon who had killed them.
He heard the sound of orbing but he didn’t even look up. "They can still be saved, Chris," his father told him.
“How?" Chris demanded, not even bothering to look up, "You can’t heal dust!"
Leo stepped over to his future son and put his hand on the shaking shoulder only to have Chris pull away. "They can’t be dead," Leo insisted. "Piper is still pregnant with you. You would’ve faded away if she was dead, the way you did when we almost didn‘t conceive you in time."
"Then why am I still here?" Chris demanded, but his father didn’t reply. When he finally looked up, he saw his father frozen. "Mom?" he called out hopefully.
But rather than Piper, the Angel of Destiny appeared. "You still have a chance to save them, young Christopher Victor Halliwell. It is your destiny to do so."
"But, how? It’s impossible."
The Angel did not appear to have heard him. “The Root of All Evil has vanquished The Source of All Good,” he stated. “You must bring her back!”
"Wait! There’s another Source?"
"No, The Source of All Evil was created by The Root of all Evil after he vanquished The Source of All Good. She must be restored to power or all hope is forever lost."
“But how do I do that?”
The Angel disappeared, but his voice remained, echoing, fading away, but still audible. "Just remember. Time is on your side….”
As the Angel disappeared, Leo unfroze. He knew immediately that something had happened because Chris’ tears had dried on his face, just like his own face was still ravaged by grief of the apparent loss of his soul mate. Only the knowledge that Chris could not be still around if Piper was truly gone forever helped him keep it together. “What happened?” he asked.
Typically, Chris ignored his father’s question. "Ever heard of the Source of All Good?" he asked instead. Before Leo could answer Chris wondered out loud, “What is it, an Elder? Or a Founder? Mom talked about the Founders creating the Elders."
Leo began to respond until he realized that his son was only thinking aloud.
"What about the Root of All Evil?" Chris next asked.
"No, you mean the Source of All Evil,” Leo corrected. “They already vanquished him. That's how they fulfilled their destiny."
"No, the Root," Chris corrected back. "The one who created the Source. Did the Founders do that, too?”
Leo shook his head. "I don’t know. I’ll go check with the other Elders."
Chris rolled his eyes. "Sure, if you feel like wasting your time." Leo shot Chris a dirty look and again Chris rolled his eyes. "Seriously, they never know anything!"
"They did come up with the idea of how to clean up the last time magic was exposed," Leo reminded him. "That may be what happened again this time."
"Yeah, pure genius,” Chris retorted sarcastically. “They had you seeking demonic help instead of just asking the Cleaners! No, thanks, I don’t want that kind of help. I don’t want to end up like Aunt Prue!"
Leo stared at him in shock, but once more Chris was no longer paying him any attention. "Time is on my side," he muttered.
"What was that?" Leo asked.
"Of course!” Chris cried. “The spell!"
Jumping up and grabbing some chalk, he drew a triquetra on the wall then cast the spell he knew very well, the spell that had brought him back to this time:
"Hear these words. Hear the rhyme.
Heed the hope within my mind.
Send me back to where I'll find
What I wish in place and time."
Even as he walked through the portal, Leo called out, "Good luck, son!" then he let his own devastation over Piper’s death sink in, as he began to cry. He had put on a strong face for his son, but now that his son had left, he let the emotions sink in.
~~~
"Yeah, I mean, look, I told you--you have nothing to worry about today, all right?” Prue insisted. “It’s going to be a demon-free day."
Just then Cole shimmered in. "Hey! Sorry I'm late!" he smirked.
Piper rolled her eyes at Prue. “You were saying?"
"Near-miss with a Zoltar," Cole explained before kissing Phoebe. "Almost spotted me. Oh, don't worry--I lost him. I think."
Just then they heard the sound of someone orbing in. "No!" cried Prue. "Leo, you’re not supposed to see your bride until the ceremony!"
But as the orbs turn into a person, all four people stared at him in astonishment. This was a young dark-haired green-eyed man.
"Who the hell are you?" Piper demanded. "Even if you are awful cute."
"Zoltar!" Cole cried as he lit up an energy ball.
Phoebe pushed his hand down. "Demons don’t orb,"
"I came from the future," the newcomer announced. "I need your help. Otherwise your lives are all going straight to hell!"
"See?" Piper sighed heavily. "No matter what, a demon will attack today. It's just the natural order of our universe."
"No, Mo-Piper,” the newcomer reassured her. “It’s not a demon who is going to ruin your wedding."
Prue looked over at this very cute stranger, the cutest thing she had seen since Darryl had taken Bane Jessup away. “Whoa, and you are?"
Cole instantly recognized the expression on Prue’s face--the same look Phoebe had given him the first time she met him and every time since. He nudged his love. "Can you believe she is actually attract--" The words died in his throat as he realized that Phoebe was looking at him in much the same way. Jealousy flared in his soul as he turned to glare at the intruder. "Look, in case you didn’t know, there is a wedding going on here, so why don’t you orb back to the future or where ever the hell came from--"
"Don’t be rude," Phoebe cut him off. Seeing the hurt on Cole’s face, she quickly kissed him.
"I think I’ll go check on Leo and Victor," Cole muttered. "Oh and before I forget..." and he tossed Piper a gift.
Piper glared at Cole as he left, then turned to the newcomer. "Young man, whatever it is that you are here for will just have to wait until after the wedding."
"What did you say your name was again?" Prue asked.
"Chris," he replied. "Chris Perry," although saying Bianca’s last name still made his heart ache.
“That’s a nice name,” Piper smiled. As she and her sisters continued to talk, Chris turned and disappeared up the stairs.
Shortly afterwards, Prue went up the stairs herself. Walking into the attic, she was surprised to see the cute newcomer looking at the Book of Shadows. "Get away from that Book!" she demanded.
Chris grinned. "Funny. Piper said the same thing the first time she saw me looking through it. I’ve been through this thing plenty of times. You know that it wouldn‘t let me near it if I wasn‘t good," and reaching out, he turned the page, smirking at her.
Prue didn‘t care. "I mean it," she warned, raising her hand.
He shrugged. "You are looking for stuff on that dream you had, right?" he asked. "Well, it wasn’t a dream. It’s just your astral self acting up," and he smiled, as he remembered all of the stories his mother had told him about her wedding.
"And how would you know?"
"Like I said, I’m from the future," Chris reminded her with a smile. “I know everything that is going to happen to this family.”
"Okay, Future Boy, what do you see in my future?"
"Believe me, you don’t want to know. All of your lives are all going straight to hell-- especially yours. I need your help to prevent that from happening."
Prue rolled her eyes. "I heard enough of this nonsense," as she yanked the Book away from him. "Save it until after the wedding. Nothing is going to be allowed to stop this wedding. We'll do what we have to do. For Piper!"
"Okay," Chris agreed with a smile. "For Piper."
~~~
Shortly afterwards, the ghost of Penny Halliwell appeared in her role as head priestess. "Places, everyone," she called, smiling. “Girls! It’s showtime!”
The doorbell rang.
"Don’t answer that!" Prue cried.
"Oh, that’s just Darryl." Chris told her, matter-of-factly. "He’s here to warn you that you are wanted for murder."
"What?" Prue exclaimed. "But that was just a dream!"
The doorbell rang again.
"Will someone answer that?" Piper yelled down the stairs.
"I’ll get it," Prue and Chris both said at the same time.
"No, I’ll get it," Prue insisted, as she went to answer the door.
Chris looked over at Victor longingly. He so much wanted to hug his beloved grandpa, but he knew he shouldn’t. Then his grandfather spoke to him. “And you are?"
"Oh, this is Chris," Phoebe told him. "He’s another whitelighter."
Victor pulled Leo to the side. "Hey, another whitelighter!" he murmured. "Be careful of him--he is probably here to steal your girl!"
"What!" Chris, who had heard every word, exclaimed. No way he'd want to steal his mother away from his father, especially not before he was even born! Just the thought creeped him out. "No way!"
"Police have your picture,” Darryl was explaining to Prue. “You're wanted for murder. They said you fled custody this morning,"
Prue turned to stare curiously at Chris. "How did you know?"
"Oh my God,” Phoebe was in shock. “That was your dream?"
"She didn’t murder anybody!" Chris insisted, adding, "Neither did TJ. Leo and Cole will figure it out later."
"How do you know about TJ?" Prue demanded, becoming more and more confused.
Chris shrugged. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm from the future. I know what's going to happen."
Penny Halliwell gave Chris a strange look, but shrugged. “That might be, young man, but let's sort this out later. That‘s what the reception is for."
"Yes," Phoebe agreed. "Let's get the wedding over with for Piper’s sake"
"For Piper," Prue and Chris said at the same time, although Chris only managed to say "Pi" before he lost all sense of what was going on, staring at who had just entered the room.
The ghost of his great-grandmother had asked his grandpa to make room, and in walked his totally-corporeal grandma. He had summoned his grandma’s ghost many times while growing up. He loved her very much, almost as much as he loved his own mother, and wanted nothing more than to go and give her a hug, since he had never been able to do that in person before.
Suddenly Chris snapped back to reality. A disaster was just about to occur, one he had to prevent. With a flick of the wrist, he forced the front door open, moments before it would have been demolished as TJ’s motorcycle came barreling through the front door.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as TJ knocked over the flowers and then knocked over the table, and all the glassware smashed on the floor. He was now heading for the table that held the wedding cake.
Chris knew the cake would be destroyed, and he knew how much that would hurt his mother who had worked so hard to make it perfect. He could not let that happen. So he telekinetically raised the motorcycle in the air, turned it around and pushed TJ and his motorcycle out the door. He knew what would happen next, but his telekinesis had no effect on Prue’s astral self as it ran after TJ.
"Prue!” Phoebe screamed. “You get your astral ass back here!"
Suddenly Chris noticed Phoebe, her short dark hair in a hairnet, and a redheaded Paige peering around the doorframe. Walking towards them, he heard Paige ask "Who is that guy?"
"I have no idea," Phoebe admitted. "He wasn’t there before, I swear. He sure is cute."
Then they must’ve noticed him walking towards them, because they tried to hide. He laughed softly. "Oh, c’mon, Phoebe, Paige. I know you’re here."
"How do you know my name?" Paige asked as she and Phoebe came out of hiding. "Do you think he's another warlock?" she asked her half-sister.
The accusation made Chris smirk. "No, I’m not a warlock, I’m part-witch and part-whitelighter, just like you, Paige."
Just then Kit walked in and meowed. Phoebe picked her up and started petting her, just as a warlock blinked in, staring in surprise at Phoebe and Paige, but especially Chris. Just as quickly, he blinked out.
"By the way, good job saving the cake," Phoebe told Chris with a smile. “Piper worked hard on that thing and was devastated that it was destroyed.”
.
"The cake was supposed to be smashed?" Paige asked.
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, he just changed history."
"That’s why I’m here," Chris told them.
"To save a cake?" Paige asked, confused.
"No, to change history.” Suddenly his eyes grew wide as something hit him. “And I must’ve succeeded or you two couldn’t come here.” Before they could ask for an explanation, he quickly warned, “Somebody’s coming!" as he grabbed for his aunts’ hands so he could orb them elsewhere, but they both blinked out, just like the warlock.
Chris shrugged and returned to the living room, just as Astral Prue returned to her body.
"Oh, Prue, you are back, good. No, wait, not good!" as he remembered. "The power is about to go out, and the police will be in here any minute!"
"Yeah, right," and Prue rolled her eyes, but then they turned huge as the power did, in fact, go out.
Reaching out for this set of aunts, Chris quickly orbed them out.
No sooner did they leave than the police walked in. The first officer on the scene looked around. He could’ve sworn he’d heard voices. “Where did everybody go….?"
~~~
Meanwhile, at a seedy bar on the other side of town, Darryl was annoyed with Cole, who insisted that he could sense blood on one of the patrons. "Oh, great, you mean you don't know? What are you gonna do? Ask him?"
Just then the biker walked past them. He stopped and stared, then continued to walk.
"That's a good idea. Why don't you meet me out front in five?" Cole asked, rubbing his hands together expectantly.
Just then Chris, Phoebe and Prue stepped around the corner. "Cole, don’t bother!" cried Chris. "You have the right killer, Darryl--just book him!"
Darryl was confused, as he often was around the Halliwells. "Excuse me, and you are?"
Cole rolled his eyes as he answered, "A royal pain in the…"
"Cole!” Phoebe cut him off before making the introductions herself. “Darryl Morris, Chris Perry. He says he’s from the future so he knows what’s going to happen."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Darryl asked.
Chris nodded. "Positive."
"Well, that ‘pain in the ass’" Prue mockingly smirked at Cole, "has been right about everything else."
“We can’t go back to the manor,” Chris reminded them. “It will be crawling with cops. I’ll go get Piper; meet us back at P3. We‘ll have the wedding there," and the others agreed.
~~~
Chris orbed to the back room of P3, the same room he’d occupy in the future. He could hear his grandparents leaving, so he walked into the bar. There he found his mother sobbing, clearly heart-broke so he knew his grandparents hadn‘t succeeded in cheering her up this time any better than they had the first time.
“Please don’t cry," Chris softly told his mother. He fought back his own tears as the sight of his mother like this was enough to shatter his own heart.
"Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”
“It’s not important. Getting you to stop crying is.”
"I can’t help it. All I wanted was a nice normal wedding. My own big sister ruined it!"
"She didn’t do it on purpose," Chris defended his aunt. "And it wasn't her. It was her astral self acting up and now Phoebe has helped her get it under control. Your sisters would do anything to make this day perfect for you; you know that. "
"Well, they failed,” Piper sniffled. "My wedding day is ruined."
"Don’t talk like that," he tried to put his arm around her consolingly, but she pulled away before he could touch her.
"Why not?” she demanded. “It’s the truth!"
"Oh, c’mon, you know this is going to work out. It's got to. After all,” he reminded her with a smile. “Weren’t you and Leo together in that future you visited?"
That didn't help much. "Worked out, yeah, right," she muttered, then looked up and glared at him. "We were divorced!"
"But didn’t you see kids in that future?" he inquired hopefully. “Kids who need you to get married so they can live?”
"Yeah, yeah,” and now she was starting to get annoyed. “We had a beautiful little girl."
"Girl?" he squeaked in surprise.
"Yeah," she replied, her heart aching at the reminder. "Melinda."
He sighed in frustration, wondering if he’d done something to prevent his and Wyatt’s conception, although he admitted to himself that that would be okay if it meant that Wyatt didn’t become evil and his mother and aunt wouldn’t die. "Well, then for her sake, you need to get married, if not for you own."
"I suppose,” she agreed, but then tears began filling her eyes again. “But not today; not when this wedding day is already ruined beyond repair."
"Hey,” he smiled. “A wise person once told me that if at the end of your wedding day, you manage to marry the person you love, then your wedding was perfect."
"What idiot gave you that dribble?"
His smile grew larger. “Um, that would be you!"
"We knew each other in the future?" she asked, interested now.
"Of course, you were--" he hesitated, but then thought about it. Again he could see his mother and his aunts disintegrating right before his very eyes. The tactic of not telling them anything had literally blown up in his face. Now he would try a different approach.
"Well, I was what?” she demanded, her eyes flashing. “Don’t keep me in suspense here!"
"You and Leo, see, well, this is kinda hard to say, but,"
"Me and Leo were what?"
She was getting annoyed again, so he just blurted it out. "You’re my parents."
"What!" she exclaimed in shock.
"Not quite the reaction I was hoping for," he muttered.
Something about his disappointed face got to Piper and her mothering instincts took over. Although she wasn’t a real “huggy” type person, she reached out and hugged him.
"I love you, Mom," Chris whispered as he snuggled into the hug.
There was something so natural and heart-felt in how he said it, that Piper just knew it ad to be true. She was holding her future son. "Oh, son!” she exclaimed. “Leo will be thrilled!"
Chris was less than enthusiastic about that idea. "Oh, no need to tell him. The less who know the better. I don't want to mess up the future too much. I shouldn’t even have told you, but I had to let you know that I do know what’s going to happen in the future and that things will turn out okay. Please, Mom, just keep this between us, okay?"
Piper shook his head. "But your father deserves to know. I can’t keep such a thing from him, especially not on what you insist will be our wedding day!
"No, he doesn't need to know, please, Mom!" he pleaded with her as he gave her his best sad puppy-dog eyes look.
That look got to her as he knew it would. "Oh, I don’t know."
"Just let me tell him when the time is right," he begged. Which will be never, he added silently to himself.
She reluctantly gave in, and he grinned just as they heard the others coming down the stairs. Piper walked over to Leo and hugged him. Chris grinned at them. "All right, let's get you two hitched!"
"Who put Future Boy in charge?" Cole grumbled bitterly.
Now that Piper knew who Chris really was, she glared at the half-demon. "Cole, put a sock in it! No, the wedding can wait!"
"What!!" cried out the others, even Chris.
"But it will happen today," Piper smiled as she kissed Leo, then she turned back to Chris. "But first things first, and you come first. Tell us again about this--What did you call it?"
"The Root of All Evil."
"If you mean--" Leo started
"No," Chris interrupted. "Not the Source--the Root."
"I’ll--" Leo began again, now glaring at Chris.
"Don't waste your time checking with the Elders," Chris shot back, glaring at his father. "The Root of All Evil created The Source. He also vanquished the Source of All Good. If you don’t want all of your futures to go to hell, we must bring her back."
"Gee," Cole muttered under his breath. “This guy sure is rude!”
"Cole!" Phoebe cried out in shock.
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Prue snickered.
"Maybe,” Victor agreed, “but Cole is right. Chris is being very rude. He shouldn’t keep interrupting."
"Yeah,” Patty added gently. “Leo is only trying to help."
Hearing his beloved grandparents disagree with him and agree with Cole broke Chris' heart. He just couldn’t win. "Sorry, Leo," he muttered, not particularly sincerely. "It’s just that we’ve already had this conversation, or will have," Chris shook his head at the confusion of time travel. "Whatever. The point is I already knew what you were going to say before you said it."
Sensing his insincerity, Leo still glared, but figured it wasn’t worth the effort of fighting over it. "Sure," he agreed slowly.
Piper stared at both of them in shock. She could swear that Chris did not like his father. Nah, impossible, she thought with a laugh; everyone loves Leo! So slipping into her natural role of peacemaker, she decided to try to move everyone past this awkward moment. "Getting back to the Root of all Evil, can we use a spell to find him?"
Cole continued to glare at Chris. "Don’t you see that he’s just leading you into a trap?"
But all of the Halliwells rolled their eyes at Cole and then, as always, Prue took over. "Phoebe, think you can work on a spell?" she suggested. "One that will take us to this Root of All Evil?"
Phoebe nodded as she grabbed the pad and pencil she always had with her, even during Piper's wedding, and began working on a spell. The others threw suggestions at her, even Victor, Patty, Chris and Cole, and eventually Phoebe had written a spell that they all agreed should work. At Chris’ suggestion, Piper found some chalk and then drew a triquetra on the wall before the Charmed Ones began to chant:
"Magic forces, black and white,
Reaching out through space and light,
The Root of All Evil is whom we seek,
To stop the havoc that he wreaks
So wherever or whenever he may be,
Now grant us passage straight to he."
It might not have been grammatically correct, but it worked as the triquetra turned into a portal. "Thanks!" Chris told them with a smile. "Wish me luck!" and he disappeared through the portal.
"Oh, no, you don’t!" Piper cried as she followed her son through the portal, unwilling to lose her son so soon after she had found him.
"Piper!" and both Phoebe and Prue ran after her.
"Phoebe!" Cole exclaimed. "There is no way I am leaving Phoebe alone with that kid!" and he charged in after them.
"Leo, you better go too,” Patty gently suggested. “Just in case they need healing," and Leo nodded as he too stepped through the portal.
Victor turned to Patty. "I guess we should go too," he said, and he turned toward the portal.
But Patty grabbed his arm. She pulled him close to her. He turned around in surprise. She gave him a slow kiss. "No, Victor,” she insisted, “Not this time,” as she watched the portal close.
~~~
They all arrived in a large dark room. To their surprise, one wall was filled with a huge screen showing a video of Leo and Piper’s wedding as it happened without Chris.
As they watched Penny tell the sisters that it was showtime, Chris was the first to speak. "Looks like demons have hidden cameras all over the manor."
Leo nodded. "We will have to do something about that when we return."
"That and find the Root," Piper reminded him. Then her mouth dropped open as she watched TJ came smashing through the door. Her chin nearly hit the floor as she watched him smash into her beautiful wedding cake.
"That's the way it originally happened," Chris admitted sheepishly
Piper smiled at him, "Then thanks for coming and preventing that," and she shook her head, still very disturbed by the sight of what her wedding could’ve ended up looking like.
"I don’t care how you do it," demanded a strident voice. Looking back, they saw a man dressed all in black standing in the doorway talking to another man who was holding a clipboard. “Just get Belthazor back here right now!” and the man in black walked out the door, while the other man followed, never realizing that there were others in the room.
Those remaining in the room spun to stare at Cole. "You know this guy?" Leo asked what everyone was thinking.
Cole shook his head, insisting, "I’ve never seen that man before in my life."
Everyone kept questioning Cole, but Chris headed for the door the man just left through. He’d been thinking about the Root and the Source and decided that they had to be sure. So he pulled out his sunglasses from his pocket and cast a quick spell that his Aunt Phoebe had taught him:
"Magic forces far and wide,
Enchant these so those can't hide
Allow this witch to use therein
So he can reveal the evil within,"
Walking down a hallway, he came to a door. Taking a quick peek, he saw the same man in black, now talking to three women who looked exactly like the Charmed Ones, even dressed in the same outfits--Piper in her wedding dress, Prue and Phoebe in their bridesmaid dresses. Chris quickly slipped on the glasses. Looking at the man he was surprised that he couldn't see anything but a huge black hole. He must be the head demon, Chris decided, or maybe even the Root of All Evil himself, since he’s the one who attracted us. And those women must be his assistants, he decided as he put the glasses back in his pocket. He tried to remain in earshot yet out of sight.
"How is the rest of the world going to believe you are the Charmed Ones if you can’t even convince me?" he demanded.
Chris could not see who was speaking but he recognized that voice—it sounded exactly like his Aunt Prue's. "Well, all this stuff you are asking us to do is just ridiculous! No one is going to believe it! And I am not going to do it!"
"You can be replaced, you know!" the man hissed.
"Wrong,” and the Prue look-alike shook her head. “It’s all about the Power of Three!"
"Right, like I can’t find someone else willing to be a Charmed One," the man threatened with a smirk.
Another women chimed in. "She is right, and you know it!! Leo and Piper are soul mates; no one is going to buy it that they suddenly break up and Piper begins dating right away just because Leo becomes an Elder! And Phoebe as Queen of the Underworld; you have got to be kidding! And Prue pregnant after being raped by a demon! Come on! That is just all so cliché."
"Yes, the eldest Charmed One will bear an evil child," the man in black declared, grinning. "And that child will be the most powerful force of evil ever born!"
Chris was stunned. If Aunt Prue had lived, Wyatt would've been hers, he thought to himself. I wonder whose son I would've been. Mom said she had a girl in the future. Would I have been a girl?
Just then the others walked up to him. He put his finger over his mouth, indicating for them to be quiet and then led them back a bit, so they wouldn’t be overheard. "As best as I can tell, they have these demonic impersonators, and they are planning on replacing you guys--right at your wedding, Mo-Piper! That must be why I was sent back to your wedding!"
"No wonder they have cameras all over our manor!" Phoebe cried, shaking her head in wonder.
"Yeah, they're studying our behavior!" Prue exclaimed. “So they can play us convincingly!”
"Exactly!" Chris agreed.
Leo spoke up. "I have an idea. If we can somehow get rid of those demons and make that man in black think you are them, we can find out what's going on here and how to stop them."
Chris wasn’t happy that his father had come up with a good idea, since he preferred being the hero who knew everything, but he reluctantly admitted that his father was right. While the others continued to discuss what they should do next, Chris snuck off again, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery himself so he could go back to being the big hero.
No sooner did he disappear around the corner than one of the imposter-demons, the one who looked like Phoebe, headed toward them. "Wow!" she cried with a big smile. "You guys are the best yet!" and she continued walking. "Don't go anywhere--you'll be needed pretty soon," and off she walked.
"She didn’t think anything of us all being here?" Leo questioned after he was pretty sure she was out of earshot.
"Weird," Phoebe and Prue said in unison.
"More than one set of imposters?" Cole suggested. "In case one set doesn't work out?" and the others shrugged.
"Hold it!" Piper suddenly cried out, "Where did Chris go?"
"Who cares?" Cole shot back, and Piper glared at him.
They decided to split up and explore. The sisters went one way while the guys went another.
~~~
Chris was still spying. Going around a corner, he spotted his mother. Or was it really his mother or the imposter-demon? He wasn't sure, so he put his sunglasses back on, looking for a dark aura. He was relieved to see it wasn’t there; instead a light blue aura surrounded her. Smiling, he walked towards her. Just in case anyone else was around, he figured he better not call her Mom, much as he wanted to. "Piper," he started, wanting to thank her for standing up for him.
But she interrupted him. "Don’t call me Piper," she said with a laugh. What? he thought to himself. She wants me to call her Mom? But what if someone overhears?
Then he noticed that she was looking him over in a very unmotherly way! "What’s with the sunglasses inside?" she asked as she walked up to him. She removed his sunglasses. "Oh, you have the most gorgeous eyes!"
"Hey!" he cried. "Give me those!" and he grabbed for the sunglasses.
She pulled then away from him. "You forgot to say please," she teased provocatively as she spun the sunglasses on her fingers. Then she smiled at him seductively.
He took a few steps back, but found himself forced to stop because he was backed up against a wall. "What do you think you’re doing?!" he cried in shock.
"You are so cute,” and she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in close. She kissed his lips and tried to take the kiss deeper just as Leo and Cole rounded the corner.
"Oh my God!" Leo flipped out. "Victor was right about him!"
"Son of a pregnant dog!" Cole glared at Chris, having no idea how badly he was insulting Piper. "You stay away from Phoebe, you hear!"
Chris was in such shock that he failed to notice Leo and Cole. He shoved Piper away "What do you think you’re doing?" he demanded, as he wiped at his lips in disgust.
"Did you happen to forget that we are getting married today?" Leo asked Piper indignantly.
Piper laughed. "Sure we are! Catch you later!" and she actually winked at Chris!
"She’s got to be under a spell!" Chris insisted as both Leo and Cole gave him a death-glare.
Piper rolled her eyes. "Don’t be ridiculous," and she laughed as she walked away.
"What were you doing, coming on to his bride like that?" Cole snapped at Chris.
"Let me handle this!" Leo demanded before he got straight into Chris' face. "What were you doing, coming on to my bride like that?" He grabbed Chris. "If she doesn't marry me today, it will be all your fault!"
"No! No!” Chris cried. “You got it all wrong! She came on to me! But I know she loves you! It’s got to be a spell!" He orbed out of Leo’s grip. Leo grabbed through the orbs, hanging onto them until Chris reappeared, then he threw Chris against a wall.
Cole's jaw dropped. "I thought you whitelighters were pacifists!"
Leo grabbed Chris and threw him again just as the Charmed Ones rounded the other corner. "Leo, what are you doing?"
"Piper!" Leo stared in shock. "Didn’t you just go that way?"
Prue shook her head. "How could she? She’s been with Phoebe and me the whole time!"
"Must have been the imposter," Cole cut her off.
"Imposter? Sorry, Chris," and Leo apologized as he helped Chris up.
Chris looked at the sunglasses that were still in his hands. "But it couldn’t have been."
Cole scoffed at him and crossed his arms, so Chris pulled out his sunglasses again and looked at the three sisters. Only light surrounded the Charmed Ones.
"What is it with the sunglasses?" Leo glared at Chris.
Chris looked at his father and all he saw was an even brighter light. Normally that would’ve annoyed him, but he had to admit that his father was good-–too good. Then Chris looked over at Cole and cringed at the sight of Belthazor, even as he was glad to see that the glasses were still working. But he was still confused. If they showed the evil within Cole, why didn’t they show the evil within the demonic imposter?
"Nothing," he muttered as he returned the glasses to his pocket, still determined to figure it out on his own.
Just then the man in black returned, accompanied by a woman none of them knew. "What are you all standing around for?" he demanded. "We’ve got work to do," and he turned and walked away, obviously just expecting everyone to follow. The woman looking back at them apologetically, as she followed him, so--just for now--the Charmed Ones and their guys followed, too.
As they did, Chris slipped his sunglasses back on. Sure enough, the man was still surrounded by his dark aura, but the woman was not. Instead all he saw was a bright light, just like when he looked at Leo. Bingo! A whitelighter pretending to be a demon infiltrating his hideout! And that must be what was what was up with that Piper-imposter; another witch pretending to be a demon! He couldn’t wait to tell the real Charmed Ones that he had figured it out.
The woman whitelighter caught up to the head demon. "I was going over these plans you made for Cole," she started, and Chris recognized her voice from when she was talking with the man earlier.
He grinned. "It will be so grand!"
"But you have Cole involuntarily becoming the Source of All Evil and taking Phoebe as his queen!" she cried, disapprovingly.
"Yeah, and if you don’t like it you can leave, too," the head demon grinned. "I don’t need you anymore."
Cole looked at Phoebe with fear in his eyes. "That is not going to happen," he assured her.
The head demon heard the comment and turned to glare at them. "You have no say in the matter," he insisted. "What I decide is what's going to happen."
Chris’ eyes grew large as he finally put it all together. To be sure he was right, he asked, "Who created the Source of All Evil?"
"What do you mean?" the woman whitelighter asked.
"That was another one of my brilliant ideas," the head demon replied proudly. Then he looked at Chris more closely. "Who the hell are you anyway? No one is allowed in here! GUARDS!"
"It’s you!" Chris accused the head demon.
Just then the three demon imposters returned. With the sunglasses still on, Chris looked more carefully at the imposters and realized that all of them had light auras; not one of them had a dark one. Were they all witches disguised as demons?
"We don’t have all day," Imposter Prue said impatiently. “Can we get on with it?”
"Yeah, hurry," the Phoebe imposter started to say as her eyes fell on Chris. "Whoa, who is that?"
"I saw him first," Imposter Piper insisted, smiling seductively at Chris as she and the Phoebe imposters surrounded Chris.
Chris glared at Leo. "I told you she hit on me."
"GUARDS!" the head demon yelled. Some big burly-looking men came running around the corner. "Get this kid out of here right now!" he commanded in a voice that was used to being obeyed.
"Nah, let him stay," Imposter Piper insisted, still ogling Chris.
Chris made a face, disgusted that his mother was all over him, wearing her wedding dress no less, even if it wasn't really his mother.
"To be with me," Imposter Phoebe declared. She was also all over him.
Cole knew she was an imposter, but he still didn’t like this one bit.
The real Phoebe saw the murderous look in his eyes, so she kissed him. "Sure this newcomer is cute, but I prefer hot men over cute boys.”
The burly men grabbed Chris. "Get your skanky hands off my son!" the real Piper demanded as she threw her hands in the air, freezing all three imposters and the guards, surprising Chris who was certain the imposters wouldn’t freeze, but he cringed as Piper let the cat out of the bag.
The others stared at Piper in shock and simultaneously cried out "Son?!"
Piper looked at Chris apologetically, and then announced. "Yes, he is mine and Leo's.”
"Well, that explains that," Cole declared. "Now to take care of those imposters," as he lit an energy ball in his hand.
"No!" Chris screamed, terrified. "They are not evil!"
"How do you know?" Cole demanded, taking aim at Imposter Phoebe.
"I charmed these glasses! I thought they might be witches, but they're not! They must be innocents, under HIS spell!" and he pointed accusingly at the man in black. "He created the Source! He’s the Root of All Evil!"
"Anyone got a vanquish in their pocket?" Prue asked with a smile.
"As a matter of fact," and Phoebe pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I’ve been working on it since we got here," and she unfolded the paper as Prue and Piper surrounded her, and they began to chant:
"Brianna, Penelope, Patricia, Melinda,
Astrid, Helena, Laura, and Grace...
Halliwell witches stand strong beside us,
Vanquish this evil from time and space!"
The imposters unfroze and watched in shocked as the man burst into flames, screaming as he burned before vanishing.
"What the hell!" cried Imposter Phoebe.
Imposter Prue stared at the Charmed Ones. ""Looks like the stunt doubles just vanquished Brad Kern!" Shannen cried in shock.
"What!" cried Holly and Alyssa, unable to believe it.
Connie smiled. "Great! Then we can get rid of these!" and she tossed some scripts into the trashcan.
Chris pointed at Connie. "So she must be the Source of All Good, huh?"
Shannen looked at him strangely, "Whatever that means. At least I can enjoy playing Prue again, and don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen to her or her sisters."
No sooner did she say that than a bright light surrounded Chris, just like the one that surrounded him when he first stepped through the triquetra portal.
~~~
When Chris could see again, he was back in the attic. He somehow knew he had returned to his own time, now changed. He could still remember everything that had happened and knew he would have to keep it to himself. But try as he might, he had no memory of the timeline he was now in. He wondered how much his life had changed.
Just then a beautiful young woman with long dark hair waltzed in. She was wearing a light-blue off-the-shoulder dress, her hair tied back with blue ribbon with lovely fresh flowers in her hair. She looked vaguely familiar but Chris couldn't place her. She hugged him like he was supposed to know her, so he lightly hugged her back.
"Congratulations!" she told him. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Melinda!" A young man walked in, wearing a tux. "You look absolutely beautiful!"
Chris shuddered at the sight of him. Wyatt! Except why were his hair and eyes both dark brown? Was he still evil? But when Chris reached for his sunglasses, he was surprised to find that they weren’t in his pocket and he was wearing a tux, one that matched the one Wyatt was wearing.
"Andy!" Melinda gave the other man the warmest smile as she twirled around, showing off her dress.
Andy? Chris wondered. Who's Andy?
Andy smiled pleasantly at Chris, a look Chris rarely saw from him if he really was Wyatt with a different name. "I can understand you being nervous about this, but relax; you are marrying the perfect girl, and if any demons try to wreck your wedding, they will have to answer to me!" He spoke with total strength and sincerity as he tapped his hand against the sword Excalibur that lay sheathed by his side.
We did it! Chris thought in triumph. The wielder of Excalibur is now good, not evil!
"Yeah,” Melinda smiled. “I can't believe Bianca is letting me be her maid of honor."
"And I'm so proud that you chose me to be your best man," Andy added.
Chris nearly fainted. Bianca is still alive?! His smile grew bigger as the realization that he was about to marry her finally set in. But if his older brother was no longer evil, how did he ever end up with a Phoenix, an assassin? That was the only thing about changing the future that had worried him.
The three walked down to the foyer, where he spotted his mother, fussing with a large floral arch, the flowers matching the ones in Melinda's hair.
He smiled at the others. "Excuse me." They nodded, smiling, so Chris raced to Piper.
"Mom!" he exclaimed. Piper hugged Chris as Melinda and Andy stepped up behind them, smiling.
She held Chris at arms-length away. "Look at you, my handsome son, all grown-up and about to get married. This brings back memories," she added with a smile.
"Of yours and Le- Dad's wedding?" Chris asked. Melinda raised a brow inquisitively at Chris, and he shrugged.
"Yeah," Piper smiled at the memory. Then she frowned. Then she smiled again.
"What is it, Mom? Did something happen at your wedding?"
She looked confused. "Funny, for a minute I thought it wasn't that great, except that I managed to marry Leo, so it must've been perfect."
Chris grinned. "Right--as long as you marry the person you love by the end of the day, the wedding was perfect."
Piper looked at him strangely. "Yes, exactly right. The funny thing is now I don't remember anything that went wrong. Now I remember that it was perfect in every way--just like I know yours will be," and Chris smiled to himself, thinking of the special wedding present he had given his parents.
Just then Prue walked in, looking as fit as ever. Instead of any kind of Gucci bag, she carried her camera. "Okay, pictures," and everyone moaned, "Oh, no!"
Then she sighed in frustration. "Oh, Andy, come here a minute first."
"Ah, Mom," Andy whined as Prue straightened out his collar and tie.
Oh, he isn't my brother; he's my cousin, Chris realized. The oldest daughter had the Twice-Blessed Child, so he's Prue's.
"Get your father," Prue told Andy. "I want him in the pictures, too."
"I think Uncle Bane is in the living room, watching football with Uncle Glen," Melinda told her.
Uncle Bane? Chris wondered. Uncle Glen? But Glen used to be Paige's boyfriend! Did he marry Phoebe? What happened to Phoebe and Cole? Did the sisters have to vanquish Cole after all?
Just then, in walked Paige from the kitchen. "Congratulations," she told Chris, as she hugged him.
"Aunt Paige?" Chris exclaimed in confusion. He looked back and forth between his Aunt Prue and his Aunt Paige, wondering how they both could be there.
"Wyatt, what's wrong?" Paige asked, concerned
Wyatt? Wyatt's here? Chris looked around, but didn't see anyone new. Then it suddenly hit him. Paige was talking to him! Since Prue had had the Twice-Blessed Child and named him Andy, Piper and Leo named their first-born son--him--Wyatt! "Ah, nothing, it is just that, uh, I'm sorry. Uh, must have pre-weddings jitters. Ah, nothing, it is just that… Didn’t Mom meet Aunt Paige at Aunt Prue’s funeral?”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Prue laughed the hardest. "I sure hope not, since I'd have to be dead in order for them to have my funeral! And I'm no ghost!"
"Well, then can you tell me again how you joined the family, Aunt Paige?"
"Oh, we've told you this story a hundred times!" Paige grinned.
"Go for a hundred and one," Chris requested. "Please. It's my favorite family story," he hoped.
"Well, all right," Prue agreed. "One night at P3," she began, "I overheard Paige telling her then-boyfriend about how she thought she might be our long-lost half-sister."
"Prue told Phoebe and me about it," Piper continued. "At first I refused to believe that it could possibly be true."
"But then Phoebe spotted the triquetra she drew on her napkin," Prue chimed in.
"So I froze everyone at the club," Piper laughed. "If she really was a witch and one of us, she wouldn't freeze."
"Sure enough, I didn't," Paige declared proudly. "And then they took me to the manor, where I got to meet the ghost of our Mom and heard the whole story. And, of course, once Leo became an elder, I became their whitelighter, so here I am, ready to do their bidding,” and everyone laughed, especially Glen, who walked in with Bane.
"Where's Dad?" Chris wanted to know, forcing himself to call Leo Dad.
"Oh, he's not coming," Piper said with a smirk. "Elder business."
Chris sighed. Some things never change.
"Yeah, right!" Melinda retorted. "Like Dad would really miss my baby brother's wedding!"
So rather than a big brother I have a big sister, Chris thought, just like Mom saw in that other future.
Just then Phoebe and Cole walked in, holding hands, looking as happy together as Chris had just seen them at that other wedding, except now Cole was smiling happily at Chris. "Hi, everybody," he greeted. "Wyatt, I have something for you," and he handed Chris an envelope.
Chris opened and read it. "Wow! Thank you!" he cried. "That is only the finest hotel in Hawaii!"
Cole grinned. "Phoebe and I wanted you and Bianca to have a great honeymoon. One that was as nice as ours."
"Yeah, wait till you see what I got Bianca for her shower," Phoebe snickered. Cole smirked, while Paige and Prue both laughed. Piper pretended not to be listening, knowing that they were talking about her baby boy.
"What is it?" Chris asked, oblivious.
"You'll find out," Phoebe grinned.
"What?” Chris asked. “When?”
"Probably tonight," Prue smiled.
"When you’re alone with Bianca," Paige added, sneering at Phoebe. "Wish I had thought about it!"
Phoebe stuck out her tongue at Paige, and everyone laughed.
"I just hope Nicole doesn't outshine the bride," Phoebe smiled proudly, which Chris thought was impossible, no matter how pretty Phoebe's daughter was. "And Sam will probably steal the show," she laughed indulgently. "Although I was still arguing with her this morning about having to wear a dress! Imagine a flower girl in jeans!"
Paige grinned. "Not Trish. She thinks the dresses Bianca chose are the prettiest things she's ever seen."
Melinda spun again. "I think so, too!" Then she grinned. "Nicole will make sure Sam behaves. After all, she's been doing it Sam's whole life." Then she grinned at Chris. "Just like I've been making sure Wyatt behaves his whole life!" and Chris managed a weak grin back.
Just then Victor walked in and gave Chris a hug. Chris hugged him back tightly, so glad he was finally getting this chance to hug his beloved grandpa again. Now if only...
"Grandpa, so glad you made it!"
"Of course, I made it! Did you think I wouldn't?"
Just then two more people walked into the room, a man and a woman. They looked vaguely familiar, but Chris couldn't place them. Piper did, as she ran to greet them. "Lynn! Antonio! Welcome! I'm so glad the big day has finally arrived!"
"So are we," replied the woman, hugging Piper. As she did, Chris saw the Phoenix tattoo on her wrist, and looking, he saw it on the man's, too. Now he realized who they must be -- Bianca's parents -- now he could see her resemblance to them. But his mother was happy to see Phoenixes? That didn't make any sense at all.
“I have never seen Bianca happier,” Antonio said, smiling. “Well, maybe on her 18th birthday, when we gave her that Porsche."
“That just proves you have not been around enough,” Lynn also smiled. “She has been like that ever since she started dating Wyatt.”
“Yeah, and I can’t believe I have not even met Wyatt yet,” Antonio said.
Melinda ran over to Lynn. “Mrs. Perry, hello!” she cried, as she hugged Lynn.
“Call me Lynn. After all, we’re family now!” and Melinda grinned.
Just then someone began to orb in.
“Dad!" Melinda ran over and hugged Leo before he even finished re-materializing.
Chris' jaw dropped. "Le..Dad, you came!"
"Don't tell me you thought I wouldn't?" Leo looked just as surprised as Chris was. "When have I ever missed anything important in yours or your sister's life?"
Chris was about to answer, but Melinda cut him off. "Never!"
Chris stared at both of them. "Never?"
Leo smiled at Chris. "Never!" and Chris continued to stare, trying to imagine his life with a father who truly cared about him and his sister, and who always put them and their mother first, ahead of Elder duties. It was nearly impossible, so opposite it was to the lifetime he remembered.
"How did it go with the other Elders?" Piper asked Leo hopefully.
"Great! They granted that surprise for Wyatt," Leo exclaimed. He smiled as another orb began forming. "Here it is now."
As the orbs materialized, Chris saw a familiar face. "Grams!" he exclaimed as he ran to hug Patty, so very happy that he finally had this chance.
"Grams!" and now Melinda and Andy were running over so they could hug Patty, too, while their parents smiled.
Then Piper took Leo by the hand and led him to the other couple. "I don't think you've met Wyatt's future in-laws, the Perrys, yet."
"No, I haven't."
After Piper made the introductions, Antonio smiled, and Chris could see where Bianca got her lovely smile. "We're so glad and so proud that Bianca is marrying someone who is both the son of a Charmed One and the son of an Elder."
Leo smiled. "And we are so glad and proud that Wyatt is marrying a Phoenix." But although he was talking to Antonio Perry, he was looking right at his son as he spoke.
Chris tried to prevent the shock he felt from showing on his face. His father was happy he was marrying an assassin? How could that possibly be? After all, before he fell in love with Bianca, one of the reason he started dating her is because he knew how annoyed Leo would be once he found out.
Just then the grandfather clock began to bong. "Almost time!" cried Melinda happily. "I'm going to go join Bianca and the other girls. See ya soon, baby brother! Love ya!"
Chris smiled, repeating, "Love ya, big sis!" realizing he truly meant it as he watched her run up the stairs.
Then Leo turned towards Chris. "I'd like to have a private father-son talk with you before the ceremony, son. Is that all right with the rest of you?"
The others nodded, smiling, so Leo took his son's hand and orbed them both to the attic. Chris rolled his eyes at his father. "You know, you don't have to give me the birds-and-the-bees talk."
Leo smiled. "No, it has nothing to do with that. I know why you are so confused, Chris."
I very much doubt that, Chris thought to himself. "Just wedding-day jitters, I guess." He tried to sound convincing, and knew he hadn't succeeded.
Leo smiled. "No, I know it's not that."
Suddenly it hit Chris and he did a double-take, staring at Leo in shock. His father had called him Chris, not Wyatt!
Leo smiled, nodding. "That's right, Chris. As an Elder, I get to see not only my past lives, but alternate timelines as well. I know that you're Chris from the timeline when Prue died, so as the oldest living sister, it was Piper and I who had the Twice-Blessed son, whom we named Wyatt, and who turned evil. I know you're his younger brother, and I know about your trip to the past, trying to prevent your brother from turning. I also know how you went back to Piper's and my wedding and how you let her have better memories of it. And I know how you and the Charmed Ones vanquished the Root of All Evil and reinstated the Source of All Good back into power."
Chris continued to stare, now not trying to hide his shock. "You know?"
"Yes, I do, and I will try to make this transition as easy on you as possible. If you're not sure about something, all you need to do is ask."
"But the Phoenixes? In my time--"
"They're assassins." Leo nodded then continued, "But, Chris, in the majority of stories, the Phoenix are actually very good. They usually symbolize resurrection and eternal life. And that's what's true in this timeline, as it is in most. In this one, the Phoenix are elite--powerful and noble witches, whom we are proud to have as our allies, and more proud to have connected with our family. A child who is both Charmed and Phoenix will be a child who will do much good in the world, and one I'll be proud to call my grandchild."
Chris stared at his father, unable to believe what he was hearing. "But, but, why was it different in the world I remember?"
Leo smiled. "Chris, the only reason the Phoenix witches were consider evil then is because the Root of All Evil said so and made it so. Once you and the Charmed Ones vanquished him, the Phoenix witches were restored to what they should have been in that timeline also, which helped create this timeline."
"Oh," Chris didn't know what to say. He continued to stare, unable to believe it. This meant that Bianca had the full support of her family, just like he now knew he had the full support of his. He couldn't think of anything more wonderful.
"So you see, Chris, an evil Phoenix is about as ridiculous as an evil Elder," Leo pointed out, grinning. Chris let out a nervous laugh as he remembered Gideon. Then Leo's grinned grew so large that it nearly split his face in half. "All right, let's get you two hitched!" and Chris grinned back, remembering telling his parents the same thing.
No sooner did they orb back downstairs than the ghost of Penny Halliwell appeared in her place as high priestess. "Places, everyone!" she announced. "Girls! It's showtime!"
Chris, Andy, Glen, Cole and Bane stood under the floral arch, while Leo and Piper, Phoebe and Paige, and Patty and Victor took their places as guests. Prue stood near the stairs, ready to start snapping pictures, but first she waved her hand, and soon the music of Pachibel filled the room. Leo flung his own hand into the air and the same lights that twinkled overhead during his and Piper's wedding now twinkled for his son's.
Shortly afterward, a pretty girl who looked to be about five dressed in a white dress, with flowers in her hair, carrying a basket full of rose petals, began walking down the stairs, although she kept pulling her dress up as she did. Chris grinned. That must be his cousin, Cole and Phoebe's Samantha, who was obviously a tomboy.
Close behind Sam, a tall, dark young woman, who looked to be about Chris' age and was dressed like Melinda, came down the stairs. She kept indicating to Sam to let go of her dress and that she should sprinkle the rose petals on the stairs, something Sam refused to do. Chris' grin grew. This must be Sam's big sister, Nicole. Unlike Sam, who was a miniature-Phoebe and who must’ve been named after Phoebe’s idol, Samantha Stephens, Nicole looked just like the father she must’ve been named after. She was very beautiful, even more beautiful than Melinda, but not as beautiful as the Bianca in Chris' memory was.
When they reached the arch, Bane stepped forward and took his young niece's hand, while Cole reached out to take his older daughter's, while Prue kept snapping pictures, even when Sam stuck her tongue out at her! Prue shook her head laughingly at her niece before turning back to the stairs, so Chris looked up them, too.
Now coming down the stairs was another lovely young woman, just about the same age as Chris and Nicole and who looked just like Paige, and Chris was having fun imagining two Charmed Ones and one whitelighter all pregnant at the same time. He wanted to see those pictures! Chris was sure that she was his half-cousin, Glen and Paige's Patricia, named after his Grams, especially when Glen stepped forward to take her hand.
His big sister came down next, almost floating down the stairs; she looked so happy for him. Andy stepped forward to take her hand then they stepped on either side of Chris, so they were in their places as maid of honor and best man.
Finally Bianca herself came down the stairs, arm-in-arm with her parents. She was dressed in Piper's wedding dress and looked lovingly, happily at Chris. She looked even more beautiful than Chris had ever remembered seeing her, thanks to the goodness that absolutely beamed from her. He didn’t need his sunglasses to know that she was no longer an assassin. He was so happy, he had to blink to keep back his tears.
Soon Chris and Bianca were reciting their wedding vows:
”Heart to thee,
Body to thee,
Always and forever,
So mote it be."
Suddenly everyone but Chris froze again and once more the Angel of Destiny appeared. "Congratulations, young Christopher Victor Halliwell!" he proclaimed. "You have put both the Charmed destiny and the Phoenix destiny back on their proper course. Now things are as they should be. And as a reward for you, you will no longer remember that earlier timeline, only this one that you have helped create."
And as he disappeared and everyone began moving again, repeating, "So mote it be!" Wyatt Christopher Halliwell took his beautiful bride into his arms and kissed her while the whole Halliwell clan cheered.
The End!